Modern dismounted infantry training systems have become a useful and effective way to train soldiers prior to and during deployments. Soldiers, police and contracted security forces all have begun to use simulated training systems to teach firearm skills and tactics to trainees and veterans alike. The objective of any simulated training system is to create as realistic a situation as possible.
Many simulated training systems use virtual reality simulators in conjunction with modified or simulated weapons configured to interact with the virtual reality simulator. The modified or simulated weapons capture data about how the weapon is used and send that data to a computing device that uses the data to produce interactions with the simulated training system. One of the goals of the modified or simulated weapons used in these training systems is to mimic the use of the weapon as it would be used in the field. The current state of the art is to use mock-ups that look and feel as close to the real weapons as possible or to make significant modifications to a real weapon that typically prevent the weapon from live fire use.
The problem with mock-ups, or simulated weapons, is that they can be extremely expensive and will never truly match the look, feel and operation of a real weapon. Furthermore, they can only ever be used in a simulated training system and serve no other real world application.
The problem with prior art systems that make modifications to real weapons for use in a simulated training system is that they are very costly and typically render the weapon incapable of live fire use without first being modified back into a live fire weapon. Most of these modifications require internal modification of the weapon or special barrel mounted solutions that require significant time and skill to attach. Furthermore, in prior art system that do not render the weapon incapable of live fire, the modifications serve no purpose outside of a simulated training system.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide an inexpensive and easily attachable/detachable weapon modification system that modifies a weapon capable of live fire for use in a simulated training system without rendering the weapon incapable of live fire use. There is a further need in the art to provide an inexpensive and easily attachable/detachable weapon modification system that can provide beneficial data capture, recording and transmission from a live fire weapon to either a simulated training system or a field use recording system.